Despite the faults with this loony Finnish script, director Brad Akin keeps his production interesting throughout. If you like oddball stories, The Orchestra should definitely will play to …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:52PMMental Health Break On Nov.13 2010 unsuspecting shoppers got a big surprise while enjoying their lunch at the Welland Seaway Mall, Ontario, Canada. Over 100 p…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:13PMAdapted by David Ives into modern English, with rhyming couplets and iambic pentameter, the resultant The Heir Apparent is a wild and zany romp. This energetic Chicago Shakespeare production…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:31PMEven better than last year's premiere, Twist Your Dickens makes a comically compelling case for its annual renewal with this sophomore redux, offering audiences the great gift of laughter wh…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:09PMWith Christmas Dearest, Hell in a Handbag Productions once again puts the *Mary* before Christmas, cooking up a great big ham with a side of gams worthy of any Dickens farce. When a cast is …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:52PMPotted Potter is a fast romp embedded with uproarious energy, and a testament to the power of creativity. With only a few props and in less than 80 minutes, Clarkson and Turner transport aud…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:18PMSung in eight languages and featuring a diverse cast, Bel Canto is a stellar world premiere of an unusual but tragically lovely contemporary opera that explores the effects of mob rule, the …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:27PMHubbard Street Dance is living, breathing proof of how athletic artists can be. Lithe and muscular, they perform daring feats with their own and each others’ bodies. Exploring themes of i…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:04PMWhile Abby Mueller does a fine job embodying Carole King in Beautiful, the show itself is flawed. There’s little dramatic tension driving the Douglas McGrath’s book. Framing King's story…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:39PMAfter almost 18 years on Broadway, Lion King at the Cadillac Palace Theatre is still in good shape and good hands. You will still get a thrill from the opening Circle of Life, as Director J…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:52PMCreated by Michael Potsic and Allison Hendrix, A Kokandy Christmas is a winning mix of traditional Christmas carols, more contemporary hits, personal stories from performers and musicians an…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:27PMExit may run a little long, but it grabs your attention from start to finish. This is an audacious and successful beginning for ICU Ensemble, and I look forward to watching them thrive in th…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 06:12PMMove over Polar Express, a soul train is barreling down the tracks for a funky holiday ride to hilarity. Returning to Shakespeare Theater after a smash debut in 2014, The Q Brothers and gang…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:32PMThe physical humor of Remy Bumppo's Fallen Angels is extremely well-realized. Director Shannon Cochran's production rises to the occasion of helping us empathize with this timeless emotion b…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:30PMThink Norman Rockwell, minus the schmaltz, and you’ve got a sense of Northlight’s You Can’t Take it With You. If you’re looking for a shot of holiday cheer minus the sugary sugarplum…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:15PMThe House Theatre of Chicago’s adaptation is a classic in its own right; a pitch-perfect blend of drama and whimsy. From script to design to performance, this Nutcracker is a vibrant holi…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:45PMWith their adaptation of Robin Hodd and Maid Marian, Forks & Hope gracefully mingles tongue-in-cheek Monty Python-esque humor with heartfelt emotion in this world-premiere that will mak…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:31PMDon some *gay* apparel—or that ugly sweater—and skate on down to The Santaland Diaries. Michael Fain and company are just as essential as uncensored Christmas Vacation viewings for anyon…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:37PMBarrel of Monkeys loves kids and isn’t afraid to show it. The passionate ensemble of actor-educators go into underserved Chicago Public Schools, facilitate creative writing workshops and t…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:26AMOne of the best spectacles on any holiday stage in Chicago, Burning Bluebeard is the kind of nervy production that represents what’s best about Chicago theatre and its success is little sh…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:49PMWith such a minimalist production, Director Ian Frank relies upon a celebrated playwright, incendiary subject, and extensive cast to carry the show. It isn't enough. Redtwist prides itself o…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:56PMGoodman Theatre’s 2015 production of A Christmas Carol is its 38th, and this year's show is a gothic and glittering holiday treat: Henry Wishcamper’s direction doesn’t skimp on the sca…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 07:16PMSet entirely in a doomed chain restaurant in the outskirts of Idaho, Griffin Theatre’s Midwest premiere is brilliant from beginning to end, an ode to broken dreams and a personification of…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 11:14PMWith Marjorie Prime, Director Kimberly Senior helms a story that’s accessible and compelling, even as the philosophical conundrums it poses become almost too weighty to wrap your mind arou…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 09:57PMThe Raid comes across as an uneven production overall, owing mostly to the lack of focus in the narrative structure. Nonetheless, the world premiere by Idris Goodwin contains some strong per…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 04:04PMAt its heart, No More Sad Things is a beautiful play. Playwright Hansol Jung’s rumination on connections lost and found is not only pretty to look at, but has significant substance. Howeve…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 01:25PMPicking a perfect cast as solo dynamos or a harmony-happy ensemble, director Brenda Didier delivers a hard-hoofing, high-strutting, big-belting two-act delight with Porchlight Theatre's Ain'…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:12PMWhile many modern audience members will still struggle to remain invested in such an exposition-heavy Greek tragedy, Court Theatre's inventive staging gives the action-craving theatre-goer a…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 05:46PMChicago Sanitation from Funny Or Die I think the next series should be a series about a local theater company called “Chicago Drama”! Anyone have any other suggestions???
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 12:33PMLyric Opera's sumptuous production of The Merry Widow is a wondrous spectacle for the eyes as well as the ears, and a great holiday treat for Chicago. Highly Recommended! (read Jacob Davis' …
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 08:52PMAlban Berg’s opera Wozzeck seems to suggest that cruelty is a slope humanity is inclined to slide down even as our better natures try to prevail. It’s an uncompromising and important art…
SOURCE: Chicago Theater Beat at 10:20PM
